Operating device for venetian blinds



- O. FRIDLUND OPERATING DEVICE FOR VENETIAN BLINDS March 3, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1959 March 3, 1964 o. FRIDLUND 3,123,130

OPERATING DEVICE FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed July 13, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 0. fiidla/zd ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,123,136 OPERATING DEVICE FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Olaf Fridlund, Mogarden, Aslrim, Sweden Filed July 13, 1959, Ser. No. 826,622 9 Claims. (Cl. 160168) The present invention concerns an operating device for Venetian blinds built up by laths, usually called flats or slats, and provided with hoisting and slat inclining cords.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device assembling all the cords of the blind to a concentrated operating place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device by which all the cords of the blind may be operated without any tangling.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device simple in construction and easy to handle for selectively operating the cords of the blind.

With these and other objects in view the invention essentially consists of a device in the shape of a hand wheel turnably arranged on a supporting sleeve which is to be attached to the Window frame and has a sleeve including an axial bore intended for the hoisting cord, said hand wheel being provided with a drum for the two normal slat-inclining cords of the blind, arranged for a winding up operation in opposite directions on the drum, said sleeve coacting with a bolt detachably inserted into the bore of the sleeve to jam the hoisting cord within the bore to locked position.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is an axial cross section on an enlarged scale of the device.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of element 20, 21 of FIG- URE l, and

FIGURE 3 a plan view of the device of FIGURE 1 with element 20 removed.

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal cross section corresponding to FIGURE 1 of a further embodiment of the device.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of element 3 of FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the device of FIGURE 4 with element 3 removed.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective, partly broken away, showing the device of the present invention installed to operate a Venetian blind.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section taken on line 8--8 of FIGURE 7.

The hand wheel consists of a turnable ring 12 provided inside with a drum 11 for the two slat-inclining cords 2a, 2b of the blind. The manually handled ring, together with its drum, is turnably placed on a supporting sleeve 4' extending from a plate 4 which is intended to be screwed on the frame, which conventionally includes mullions and ledges as well as the vertical elements at each side of the sashes, of a window, the hoisting cord 1 of the blind being drawn through the central bore of the sleeve. The two slat-inclining cords of the blind have their free ends attached to the drum, for instance, by a screw 16 screwed into the drum. From this screw the slat-inclining cords extend around opposite sides of the drum to be wound on the drum in opposite directions and to be exposed to alternative pulling actions when the drum is turned by the hand ring or wheel 12 in opposite directions. In the embodiments shown, the ring and the drum are executed as separate parts to facilitate the mounting, the drum being attached to the ring, for instance, by friction, and a radial projection 13 from the ring acts as a catch gripping into a corresponding recess 14 in the drum to bring the drum into turning movement by the hand ring. An inwardly directed flange 12 at the top of the ring serves as protecting cover for the drum. The hoisting cord 1 as well as the slat-inclining cords 2a, 2b are drawn through an outwardly widened hole 24 in the window frame 25, as indicated in FIG- URE I. The cords will be lead to the Venetian blind itself in any conventional manner.

In the embodiment of FIGURES l to 3 a tapered bolt 21 extending from a cup-shaped pulling knob 20, is disposed on the front of the hand wheel and is detachably inserted into the central bore or passage it? of the sleeve 4-. The hoisting cord 1 is attached beneath the knob by being inserted through a cross bore 22 at the foot of the bolt and is provided with an end knot 1. The bolt 21 has such a conical shape, that the bolt will, when inserted into the bore, jam the hoisting cord against the bore wall. In order to pull up the blind to a desired height the hoisting cord is drawn out a corresponding length through the central bore of the sleeve by means of the knob 20, and thereafter the bolt is inserted into the bore locking the cord and the blind in the set position. A sling or bight 1" of the hoisting cord is then hanging down outwardly of the hand wheel. The inclining of the slats is caused in a simple way by the turning of the hand wheel in one or the other direction independent of the raised position of the blind.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 4 to 6 a turnable knob 3 is substituted for the knob 20 with its tapered bolt. Said knob 3 has a threaded pin 3' screwed from the outside into a coaxial recess 15 in the supporting sleeve 4a. Said recess is of greater diameter than the bore 1%) of the sleeve and the bore communicates by an inner mouth with the recess. Also the knob 3 is formed with a co-axial recess 6 ending with a bottom 7 which is provided with an eccentrically disposed hole 8 for the passage of hoisting cord 1a. At the underside of the bottom there is a central rounded projection 9 bordering on the hole and adapted to lie against the inner mouth of the bore 10'. The hoisting cord in is drawn through the bore 10' of the supporting sleeve as well as through the hole 8 and the knob 3. When this knob 3 is screwed tightly into the sleeve the cord In is jammed between the bore mouth and the bottom projection 9, and the blind is secured in any desired raised position. The cord is free again to be pulled when the knob 3 is loosened. The inclining of the slats is obtained in the same way as in the previous embodiment.

Thus the device according to the invention has the important advantage that the whole operation of the Venetian blind is concentrated to a distinct place by means of a hand wheel easy to handle and with a pleasing appearance and preventing the disadvantage of tangled cords. The hand wheel may be positioned on the window frame it the blind is placed between two panes of the window, and on the window frame if the blind is positioned in front of the window.

in FIGURE 7 a device of FIGURE 1 (using the same reference characters since it is the same device) is shown mounted on the window frame 25. At the top of the figure is a Venetian blind having two tilting cords 2a and 2b and a hoisting cord 1. The only parts of the device that are visible are elements Zil and 12 which are described above.

FIGURE 8, being a section on line -88 of FIGURE 7, shows the same structure as FIGURE 1 except for the pulleys, or fair leads, 30 and 31 for tilting cords 2a and 25, respectively, and 32 for cord 1. The aperture 24- in frame 25 permits passage of the cords 1, 2a and 21) through the frame 25.

In the drawing and specification there have been set forth embodiments to exemplify the invention and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a Venetian blind having two cords to adjust the angle of the slats, and having a single hoisting cord to hoist and lower the blind, a window frame on which the blind is hung, and a device comprising a plate mounted on the window frame, a sleeve extending from said plate away from said frame and providing an axial passage through which said single cord to hoist the blind passes, means for selectively locking the single cord in a selected position in said passage, the outer surface of said sleeve being cylindrical, a winding drum having a cylindrical bore rotatably engaging said outer surface of said sleeve, said winding drum having a flange of limited radial extent adjacent said plate, and a flange of greater radial extent remote from said plate, a hole in said window frame adjacent said plate, said two cords extending through said hole and wrapped about said drum, one in each direction, means on said drum to secure the ends of said two cords to said drum, a cup-shaped handwheel element covering and frictionally gripping said flange of greater radial extent, said cup-shaped handwheel being axially apertured in alignment with said passage, and having a peripheral skirt extending toward said plate, and window frame, said skirt providing a grip by which said drum may be manually rotated.

2. The device of claim 1, in which the means to selectively lock said single hoisting cord in said axial passage comprises screw threaded means axially movable in said sleeve, said screw threaded means being provided with an aperture therethrough eccentric to said axial passage for passage of said hoisting cord.

3. The device of claim 1, in which said means to selectively lock said hoisting cord comprises a tapered plug so proportioned with respect to said axial passage to jam the single cord passing through said passage.

4. A device for manipulating the two tilting cords and the single hoisting cord of a Venetian blind, said device consisting of a plate, a hollow axle extending outwardly from said plate, the hollow of which provides a passage through said axle and said plate, the outer surface of said axle being cylindrical, a winding drum having a cylindrical bore snugly and rotatably engaging the cylindrical outer surface of said axle, said winding drum having a flange of limited radial extent adjacent said plate and a flange of greater radial extent remote from said plate, means on said flange of greater radial extent to secure the ends of blind cords thereto, a cup-shaped handwheel element covering and frictionally gripping said flange of greater radial extent, the sides of said cup-shaped hand- Wheel element having a central passage and having a generally cylindrical edge extending toward said plate and hiding said drum from view, a cup-shaped pulling knob, means on said pulling knob to secure it to a cord end, and a tapered wedge-like bolt element extending from said knob extending snugly into said passage through said axle to wedge said single hoisting cord in said passageway.

5. In combination, a Venetian blind having two slatinclining cords and a single hoisting cord, a device for operating said Venetian blind at a window frame, a guide aperture provided in the window frame for the hoisting cord and for the two slat-inclining cords of the blind, said device comprising a plate secured to the window frame covering said guide aperture in the window frame, said plate being provided with guides for the cords formed by apertures in said plate so located in said plate as to be in communication with the guide aperture in the window frame, an axle pin extending from the plate securing means in opposite directions around the drum,

through a guide aperture in said plate, through said guide aperture in said window frame to said Venetian blind, said single hoisting cord extending from said Venetian blind through said guide aperture in said Window frame, through a guide aperture in said plate and through the aperture in said axle pin.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein a holder for the outer end of the hoisting cord is provided comprising means detachably inserted in the central bore of the axle pin.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the outer end of said hand wheel cylinder comprises a protecting cover for the drum, said cover having a central opening opposite the bore of the axle pin, and having means interlocking with said drum to prevent relative rotation between said hand wheel and drum.

8. in combination, a Venetian blind having one hoisting cord and two slat-inclining cords mounted on a window frame, a guide in the shape of a bore in the window frame provided for passage of the hoisting cord and for the two slat-inclining cords of said Venetian blind, an apertured plate secured to the window frame to cover the opening of said bore in the frame, an axle pin extending from the plate, a drum having a flange turnably mounted on the axle pin and provided with an end flange at the end remote from the plate, two separate guides at said plate for the cords, said guides being extensions of the bore in the window frame, one said guide formed as a bore through said axle pin and plate to convey the hoisting cord therethrough, and the other said guide being formed as a passage through said plate to lead the two slat-inclining cords to the outer circumference of the drum flange located so that the slat-inclining cords extend about said drum in opposite directions, means to attach the ends of said cords to said drum, and a knob provided with a pin temporarily inserted longitudinally into the bore of the axle pin and proportioned with respect to said bore to clamp the hoisting cord between the knob pin and the bore wall.

9. The device of claim 8, in which said knob pin and bore wall are provided with walls converging away from said plate, the hoisting cord being attached to the knob pin, said knob being provided with a head portion to cover and hide the cord-holding pin as well as the central openings of the housing and of the axle pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. IN COMBINATION, A VENETIAN BLIND HAVING TWO CORDS TO ADJUST THE ANGLE OF THE SLATS, AND HAVING A SINGLE HOISTING CORD TO HOIST AND LOWER THE BLIND, A WINDOW FRAME ON WHICH THE BLIND IS HUNG, AND A DEVICE COMPRISING A PLATE MOUNTED ON THE WINDOW FRAME, A SLEEVE EXTENDING FROM SAID PLATE AWAY FROM SAID FRAME AND PROVIDING AN AXIAL PASSAGE THROUGH WHICH SAID SINGLE CORD TO HOIST THE BLIND PASSES, MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY LOCKING THE SINGLE CORD IN A SELECTED POSITION IN SAID PASSAGE, THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID SLEEVE BEING CYLINDRICAL, A WINDING DRUM HAVING A CYLINDRICAL BORE ROTATABLY ENGAGING SAID OUTER SURFACE OF SAID SLEEVE, SAID WINDING DRUM HAVING A FLANGE OF LIMITED RADIAL EXTENT ADJACENT SAID PLATE, AND A FLANGE OF GREATER RADIAL EXTENT REMOTE FROM SAID PLATE, A HOLE IN SAID WINDOW FRAME ADJACENT SAID PLATE, SAID TWO CORDS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID HOLE AND WRAPPED ABOUT SAID DRUM, ONE IN EACH DIRECTION, MEANS ON SAID DRUM TO SECURE THE ENDS OF SAID TWO CORDS TO SAID DRUM, A CUP-SHAPED HANDWHEEL ELEMENT COVERING AND FRICTIONALLY GRIPPING SAID FLANGE OF GREATER RADIAL EXTENT, SAID CUP-SHAPED HANDWHEEL BEING AXIALLY APERTURED IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID PASSAGE, AND HAVING A PERIPHERAL SKIRT EXTENDING TOWARD SAID PLATE, AND WINDOW FRAME, SAID SKIRT PROVIDING A GRIP BY WHICH SAID DRUM MAY BE MANUALLY ROTATED. 